


I'm Not The One

by BeaconMineshaftII



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Friendship/Love, Hurt/Comfort, POV Alternating, POV First Person, POV Third Person
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:33:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26327179
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeaconMineshaftII/pseuds/BeaconMineshaftII
Summary: My name is Kat. I was in Atlanta when the apocalypse happened. There wasn't much of a warning before the world just ended. My best friend Glenn and I have joined up with some other survivors from the area. We're trying to make the best of it. I don't know what kind of future we can have in this world. If there's any future to be had at all. But I'll write it all down I guess.Daryl Dixon x Original Female Character; OFC is bisexual so there will be mentions of F/F.*Mostly in First Person POV, will sometimes alternate to Third.*"I'm Not The One" by 3OH!3 inspired the title. All chapter titles will be song titles, which will be specified at the beginning of each chapter. It is not a lyric fic.
Relationships: Daryl Dixon/Original Female Character(s), Original Female Character & Andrea, Original Female Character & Carol Peletier, Original Female Character & Glenn Rhee, Original Female Character & Merle Dixon, Original Female Character & Shane Walsh
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Run

**Author's Note:**

> "Run" by Bring Me The Horizon

“Oh what the hell,” Glenn muttered beside me. There were gunshots in the air. And they weren’t coming from our group. He looked through the binoculars around his neck. “Oh fuck. There’s a guy near the tank down there. He came in on...a horse?”

He handed me the binoculars. I looked through them just as someone shut the door to the tank. “Can we get to him?”

“Not through that,” Glenn shook his head. I sighed and he looked at me shaking his head. “That’s suicide, Kat.”

“Well, wouldn’t you want someone to do the same for you?”

“Fair point,” he nodded. He pulled out the radio, trying to tune it to get to the guy in the tank. I tuned out the conversation, studying the ground below. Those fucks are everywhere. “Alright, we can meet him over by that alley there.” I nodded as he relayed the information to the guy in the tank. I put the binoculars back in Glenn’s pack so we were ready to move immediately.

Then I turned to our group and handed my backpack to the large, older man. “Watch this for me, Merle?”

“Anythin’ for you, sugar tits,” he winked and shrugged my bag over his shoulder.

“Thanks, I think.”

The tank door opened. Glenn put his hand on my back, guiding me along. If anyone other than Glenn did that, I probably would’ve immediately told them off. I’m small but I can take care of myself. But Glenn’s a friend. Literally my best friend--apocalypse or no apocalypse. We worked together at the pizza shop for a few years before the world decided to end. He didn’t mean it like that.

Glenn had me stay near a nearby roof entrance, pistol and combat knife ready like Merle had shown me on another run once. It proved to be more beneficial than once in the long run. So now it’s just a habit. 

I didn’t run into any trouble waiting for them and Glenn managed to get the new guy over to us unscathed. Neither of them would climb the ladder without me so I scrambled up the ladder as fast as I could. The new guy kicked it down, ripping the bolts from the roof and tossing a few geeks to the ground. We hurried across the roof and down the other side to get back to our original building. The door was opened for us and then shut behind us by T-Dog. This kept them from swarming our building and distracted a few of them.

Andrea immediately pulled a gun on the new guy.

“Andrea, really?” I asked, annoyed at this point by a combination of the humidity and the geeks shuffling around outside. I exchanged a look with Glenn before turning away and heading upstairs. I can’t be part of this group. It’s ridiculous sometimes.

As soon as I opened the door, a gunshot startled me. Merle Dixon was on the roof shooting geeks. I stared at him for a few seconds before I picking up my discarded backpack, shaking my head, going back inside to the stairwell. It wasn’t long until everyone else ran up the stairs to stop his insanity. Glenn and the new guy stopped when they reached me.

“Merle’s having a moment,” I explained. Then, to the new guy, “get ready for the most racist Southerner you’ve ever met.”

“You’re a Northerner,” he chuckled.

“Well I’m not a Southerner,” I replied sassily, opening the door and leading them outside. Glenn was still chuckling at my joke when we got outside. Merle turned on him.

“Somethin’ funny to you, Chink?” Merle asked, trying to intimidate him. I pointedly stepped in front of Merle, staring him down. “What’re you gonna do, sugar tits? Take my mind off of things, maybe?”

“I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man alive,” I said crassly. “Especially since you just threw my backpack over there. So much for doing anything for me.” Glenn bit his tongue behind me, trying not to laugh. Merle stared me down.

“Too mouthy for me.” Then he turned to go take out his misguided anger on someone else.

“Thanks,” Glenn murmured, standing beside me instead of behind me. I shook my head, still watching Merle as he berated T-Dog. A fight was going to break out. As soon as I had that thought, Merle started swinging. The new guy went down, Morales went down, and then T-Dog. I sighed as Glenn went forward to try and help diffuse the situation. Merle just kept wailing on T-Dog.

“Merle, knock it off,” I said, touching his shoulder. He whirled to face me. I made sure to keep my voice and my gaze calm and steady. It was something I had seen his brother do back at camp. “This isn’t accomplishing anything.”

Merle stood, towering over me. “It’s making me feel better.”

“For now, but not five minutes from now,” I reasoned. I saw the anger start to leave his jaw and shoulders as he relaxed. The new guy tackled him to the ground, handcuffing him to a steam pipe coming up from the floor of the roof. I threw my hands in the air. “What the  _ fuck _ ? It was fucking under control.”

“You sure about that?”

“You’re a dick,” I muttered, turning away from the group. Merle’s one of the most racist people I’ve ever met, but he’s still fucking human. I clenched my jaw, walking to the edge of the building. More geeks had gathered thanks to the scuffle. We’d never get out with all these things around. I had an idea.

“Glenn,” I called, ignoring everyone else. “I’ve got an idea. There are some cars behind that fence over there, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, mostly trucks.”

“We can get everyone out in one of those.”

“You’ll need a distraction first,” the new guy jumped in. I turned and stared at him.

“I’m sorry, who the fuck even are you?”

“Rick Grimes, deputy sheriff.”

“Pretty sure we don’t have sheriffs any more. But I’m Kat, for future reference.” Then, to Glenn, “There should be cars just outside city limits.”

“But what about the keys?” Glenn asked curiously. I rolled my eyes.

“Please, I can manage to hotwire a car. It’s not hard. We’ll just pick something nice enough to be able to evade the geeks once we’ve got their attention.”

“I can just do it,” Glenn offered. I stared.

“No fucking way. Don’t be a martyr.” Then, to Rick: “Now uncuff him. He’s more useful if he can actually use his hands.”

T-Dog grabbed the key, “I’ll uncuff him when it’s time.” I was displeased by that, but I’d accept it. T-Dog isn’t unstable like this Rick dude seems to be. Who just shows up into a group of people and takes charge like they know everyone? This is why I didn’t want to join up with a group of people. Fuck people. I still think Glenn and I would be perfectly fine on our own.

“How are you going to get to those cars?” Andrea asked, looking at us doubtfully. I shrugged and looked at Glenn for an idea. His face lit up as he thought of one.

“We have to blend in with them,” Glenn suggested. 

Rick nodded: “Those walkers in the alley, we can cover ourselves with them. Mask our scent.” 

“As long as you stop being a pedantic dick,” I nodded. Glenn fought back a smile and nodded after I consented. We went back down into the store, ignoring the geeks trying to break into the store. There were two wandering in the alleyway behind the store. Glenn and I got out our knives and took them down pretty easily. Then the gross part: gutting them and smearing their insides all over us.

In just a few minutes, we were covered. We all nodded at one another before beginning to shuffle around the barricade and join the hoarde. It was a slow process. And nerve wracking. But they ignored us. Until it started to rain.

“Run!” Rick yelled. Glenn and Rick cleared the way while I scrambled up over the fence. I was the smallest, so I was the fastest. I got to the box of car keys, glancing at them before finding a set for the box truck nearby. I had it unlocked by the time they got over the fence. Rick took the driver’s seat while Glenn and I shared the passenger seat. We braced ourselves as best that we could with Rick’s driving. He skidded to a halt by a mustang. Glenn and I practically fell over each other getting out. I unravelled the wire coat hanger I took from the store, peeled up the weather strip a bit where the lock should be, and moved the coat hanger around a bit until it unlocked.

“Where the hell did you learn how to do that?” Glenn asked after I had opened the door. 

“My brother,” I shrugged. We got into the car and I forced the plastic covering under the steering wheel off. I cut a few of the wires with my knife and reconnected them. The mustang roared to life and the alarm started to sound. Glenn whooped appreciatively. “Hang on,” I advised him. My brother and dad owned a garage so a stick shift is no problem for me. They were big on making sure I knew how to do stuff like this. ‘Just in case,’ my dad had always told me. I hope they’re okay.

I tried to ignore thinking about them as I drove through the streets, trying to round up as many geeks as I could before driving them further into the city. 

“Okay, turn left here,” Glenn instructed. I did as he said and trusted him to navigate me back out of the city. Hopefully Rick did his part and the others are safe. Once we were safely out of the city and no geeks were around, I stopped the car. “Wait, what are you doing?”

“Killing the alarm,” I said simply. I popped the hood of the car, found the wire connecting the alarm to the battery, and pulled it. The alarm immediately stopped. “Now I can hear myself think again.”

“I really don’t know anything about your family,” Glenn realized. I shrugged.

“Dad raised my brother, Chris, and I. Mom left when I was little. I don’t even remember her,” I shrugged. “Pretty typical stuff.”

He stared at me for a few seconds to see if I would continue. I wouldn’t. He eventually said nothing and looked at the window as I drove us back to camp. We got back there before Rick and the others did. A few people looked relieved as I pulled up and killed the engine.

Shane looked fit to murder someone. “What the hell happened?”

“Some new guy came into Atlanta shooting shit and attracted a horde,” I said as we got out. I disconnected the wires so it would turn off. “We’ve got a car now though.”

“Where are the rest?” Amy, Andrea’s sister, asked. She looked petrified.

“Don’t worry, they’re fine,” Glenn assured her. As if on cue, a box truck came into sight. “See.”

I walked over and sat on the ground. I’m fucking tired. Glenn laughed before joining me. Rick parked the truck and people started to wander out of it. Everybody except for Merle. I frowned and looked at Glenn. He shook his head and shrugged. He didn’t know either. I didn’t get a chance to react as the group got a look at Rick.

Carl started crying and threw himself at Rick while screaming: “Dad!”

Lori looked like she was going to cry as she hugged him as well. Shane however, looked like his world had just come crumbling down. He and Lori had been hooking up recently. This was drama that I wanted to stay out of.

“T-Dog, where’s Merle?” I asked. He looked a bit guilty.

“I dropped the key Rick gave me and we had to leave him there.” 

“We have to go back and help him, he’s gonna get eaten alive,” I said, pushing myself to stand.

“I locked the door behind me. No way any of those geeks could break through it. Dixon’s still alive.”

“We’ll go tomorrow,” Rick agreed. “It’s gonna be dark soon. He’ll be fine overnight. Pissed, but fine.”

“Fine, what are we telling Daryl?”

“That’s a good question,” Dale agreed.

“The truth,” Andrea offered. “Merle was out of control and we did what we had to do.”

I rolled my eyes, stood, and walked away while brushing myself off. I’m done with people today.


	2. No Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "No Surprises" by Radiohead

The next morning, I was woken up by Carl and one of the other little girls, Sophia, screaming for their respective parents. I rolled out of my sleeping bag, shoved my boots on, grabbed my gun and sprinted towards them along with Shane, Rick, Glenn, Lori, Jim, and Carol. There was a geek gnawing on a deer a bit further away from our security line. Lori and Carol stayed with the kids while the rest of us cautiously approached the geek. It didn’t care about us at all. The men unceremoniously beat it until Dale chopped its head off.

I sighed, flicked the safety back on, and put the gun in the waistband of my sleeping shorts. As soon as I did that, there was a rustle from the surrounding brush. Shane pointed his shotgun, ready to shoot. Daryl emerged, looking startled.

Once he realized what had happened, he got pissed and started kicking the shit out of the geek. “I’ve been tracking this deer for miles. Was gonna drag it back to camp and cook us up some venison. Think we could cut around this gnawed up part right here?”

To everyone’s surprise (except Glenn’s), he looked to me for an answer. I shook my head.

“Probably not,” I replied. “Seems to be transferred through saliva. If it wasn’t dead before it started gnawing on it, it’s probably all infected even if just being bitten doesn’t infect all of it.”

“That’s a damn shame,” he sighed. “Got us some squirrels. ‘Bout a dozen or so. That’ll have to do.”

The geek opened its eyes and started gnawing the air. Daryl looked annoyed, pulled up his crossbow and shot it. “C’mon, people, what the hell? Gotta be the brain.” He shot it through the eye and retrieved his arrow. “Don’t ya’ll know nothing?”

I tried not to laugh. Out of everyone here, Daryl and Merle were the most interested in knowing how the virus seemed to work. And, well, I  _ had _ been going to college to one day be a virologist. Never got to finish my master’s degree but I did get a bachelor’s in chemistry and a minor in biology and epidemiology. I only got a year into my master’s degree before the world ended. Still never managed to find a better part time job than the pizza shop.

My amusement was immediately tarnished by Daryl calling for Merle to come help him. “You guys can handle this, right?” I asked Shane and Rick pointedly.

“Yeah, go get dressed,” Shane sighed. I shot Glenn a look before doing so. He followed me and kept his back to me once we got back to the tent.

“I didn’t realize you talked to Daryl and Merle so much,” he said, presumably watching the scuffle outside unfold. Daryl reacted volatilely, as expected, and tried to stab both Shane and Rick based on Glenn’s commentary.

“They were interested in trying to learn a bit about how whatever’s going on works,” I sighed, pulling my shirt above my head. I put on a bra first and then another shirt before then moving on to underwear and pants. I was pulling on socks before Glenn went over to help. After my boots were back on, I joined them.

Rick was trying to convince Daryl that he’d go help him find Merle and bring him back. Shane, however, was counter-arguing.

“Merle fucking Dixon wouldn’t give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst,” Shane stared Rick down angrily.

“Shane that’s not true and that’s not fair,” I glared at him. “I’m going with you. Some of us don’t piss off people quite as much.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

“I’m not letting you go with them,” Glenn sighed at me when Rick turned to him expectantly.

“You’re putting every one of us at risk,” Shane started going off on a tirade. I shook my head, ignored it, and went back in my tent to grab my pack (which I had packed the night before out of guilt). While they sorted out their drama, I hopped up into the box car with Daryl.

Eventually, Rick convinced the others that it was necessary and procured some bolt cutters from Dale. Glenn and Rick got into the driver’s and passenger seat while I sat in the back with Daryl in silence. T-Dog reluctantly got in, avoiding eye contact with Daryl even though he sat next to him. Daryl stared him down for a few seconds before pointedly sitting next to me instead.

I miss the library. And the internet. And learning. Things were so much easier back then. And so much less complicated.

Glenn started the truck and we drove in a very uncomfortable silence until we were close enough that we’d be walking the rest of the way. Daryl was the first out of the truck, then T-Dog. I followed behind them next to Glenn, surveying the field around the railroad trucks.

There weren’t many geeks left in the store by the time we arrived. Daryl made quick work of them.

“You’re one ugly skank,” he muttered before shooting the last one in the face. I frowned at him. How misogynistic. He either didn’t see my reaction or ignored me and headed towards the roof. Glenn glanced nervously at me and then at Rick, who was following Daryl up the stairs.

With a shrug, I followed as well. All I could hear from behind Rick was Daryl starting to say ‘no’ over and over again. I looked around Rick, surveying the scene. There was a bloody hacksaw, a hand, and bloody handcuffs left behind. You stupid sonofabitch.

“Where the fuck is he?” Daryl turned angrily on Rick.

“He’s still alive,” I pointed to the hand. “Just down a hand.”

“You think that’s funny?” He glared, turning on me.

“No, I think it’s dumb. But Merle doesn’t wait for anybody and you know that,” I reminded him. He clenched his jaw but didn’t sass me any more. I pushed by him gently and went to go collect Dale’s tools. Glenn came over to help while Rick tried to talk Daryl down some more.

“I don’t know how you do that,” Glenn whispered after making sure Daryl wasn’t paying attention. “They just scare me.”

“Everything scares you,” I teased with a smile. “You just have to stay level with them. No bullshit. No kid gloves.” I glanced at the saw. “Should we bring that? Or do you think Dale will understand why I didn’t want to touch that?”

“I’ve seen you gut things and you don’t want to touch a bloody saw.”

“I have lines and limits, Glenn. That’s one of them.”

“I’ll get it,” Daryl said quietly. He took a rag out of his pocket to avoid touching it directly.

“You can probably wrap it up in one of the shirts downstairs.” He nodded and stared at me for a few more seconds before walking away.

“What was that about?” Rick asked, grabbing the toolbox from Glenn.

“That’s how Daryl apologizes.” I stood. “We good?”

“Yeah, guns next.”

“That’ll be less fun,” Glenn sighed.

“We’ll be able to handle it.” Daryl reappeared with the saw wrapped in a pastel pink shirt. 

“Best I could do,” he said. Rick nodded and took it, putting it into the tool bag.

“I’ll carry it,” Glenn insisted. “I’m probably the worst shot here.”

“You have a gun?” Rick asked, clearly confused. I pulled my shirt up a bit so he could see it in the waistband of my jeans.

“No holster, but I’ve got a gun.”

“We need to get you a holster,” he chuckled. Daryl, however, was studying the blood on the ground.

“I’m gonna follow this. I’ll catch up with you,” he announced.

“No, I’ll go with you. You shouldn’t go alone,” I shook my head.

“You know the streets almost as well as I do,” Glenn nodded when Rick looked like he was going to argue.

“Meet us back at the truck, okay? Don’t do anything stupid,” Rick said firmly. Glenn laughed a bit while T-Dog shook his head.

“Kat is literally the smartest person I know. I think they’ll be fine.”

“College brain,” I smirked. “Women are allowed to be educated now. I know that’s a newer concept in the South.”

“I didn’t mean,” Rick started but then caught himself when he saw me starting to grin.

“Yes, I’m a shit, I know. We’re losing daylight. You guys go get the guns. Daryl and I will go see if we can find Merle around here. He couldn’t have gone very far.”

“Be careful,” Glenn told me firmly. I nodded and followed Daryl. 

We didn’t run into any trouble, Daryl was able to silently take down the geeks we found along the way. Eventually we followed the blood to a kitchen. He had cauterized his wounds.

“Nobody can kill Merle but Merle,” Daryl chuckled slightly.

“Sounds right,” I smiled, but I was worried. I tapped him on the shoulder and pointed to a broken window. He turned and looked at me.

“You okay to look around out there?”

“Yeah, I’ve got a knife if I need it.” I tapped the sheath around my thigh. Merle had given me one along with the knife. 

“Wondered what Merle did with that after he made it. That why you came along?”

“Not everybody hates Merle,” I shrugged. “He’s just not good at making friends. C’mon, this place gives me the creeps.”

He nodded and helped me out of the window to continue searching for Merle. “I didn’t think it was possible for Atlanta to deteriorate any more,” I observed dryly. Daryl smiled slightly over his shoulder at me.

“You never grew to like it none?”

“Parts of it, never the actual city. I was only going to stay here for another three years anyway. Just until after college.”

He grunted in reply as he shot a stray geek in the head. He pulled the arrow out and wiped it on his pants. “You liked up north better?”

“What is this, twenty questions?” I teased, smiling at him. He looked unsure how to answer that so I laughed quietly. “Yeah, I liked living in New York a lot.”

“City?”

“Upstate. Southerner.” He rolled his eyes at my teasing.

“You’re from Georgia?”

“Born and raised.”

“What did you do before all of this?”

He glanced at me, studying my face. “Not much, Merle and I were drifters.” I didn’t know what to say, so I didn’t say anything. After about an hour of searching, Daryl swore and kicked a trashcan over. There wasn’t enough to track Merle down.

I opened my mouth to say something consolitary before we both heard someone yelling in Spanish. “This way,” I nodded to the direction we had just come from. We went around to get behind the screaming. A guy dragging a hooded Glenn came into view. I immediately drew my pistol. Daryl was standing behind me with his crossbow raised.

“Let the pretty Korean go before I shoot you,” I threatened. The guy had to have only been a few years younger than me. He pulled a gun out and held it to Glenn’s head. The safety was still on. I sighed and threw my head back dramatically. The teenager looked confused, allowing me to take the opportunity to just throw myself at them. I took Glenn and the teen down with me. Glenn rolled out of the way while I wrestled the gun away from the kid, giving him a swift knee in the crotch. Daryl picked up the gun and stared at me.

“Safety was on,” I shrugged. I stood and watched the teen roll onto his stomach in pain. “So why are you kidnapping my friend?”

“Because we wanted these,” an older man said, gun trained on me. He was holding the bag of guns that Rick, T-Dog, and Glenn had been trying to get. I put my hands up.

“I just wanted my friend back,” I assured him. “It’s rude to kidnap people.”

“Kat,” Daryl shot a look at me. Obviously he was not pleased with my decision to sass them. I rolled my eyes and pulled Glenn’s hood off. 

“Uh uh, don’t untie him, kitty Kat,” the man ordered.

“That’s incredibly sexist,” I crossed my arms.

“Sorry,” he said, obviously not sure what to do with me. Clearly he hadn’t planned on there being more than Rick, T-Dog, and Glenn. At this point, Rick showed up behind the man, gun drawn. T-Dog was behind him, looking concerned and armed with an axe.

“Put the gun down,” Rick ordered firmly. The man exchanged a glance with the teenager, who rolled over and grabbed me. He pulled my knife out of its sheath and held it to my throat as he pulled me close to him. His heart was beating fast. He was nervous. Daryl immediately aimed his crossbow at the teenager while Rick was trying to get the situation under control. 

I shook my head slightly at Daryl, who pursed his lips together.

“This is how it’s going to be,” the man said as he stepped towards the teenager and I. “I’m going to take  _ Kat  _ here, and these guns, and we’re going to leave.”

I stared Daryl down until he looked at me. I glanced at the older man with my eyes. Daryl glanced at Glenn, T-Dog, and then Rick before looking back to me. Taking a deep breath, I bit down on the teenager’s arm and kicked the man in the side as hard as I could. The man dropped the guns as Glenn tackled the teenager. Before Rick or Daryl could react fast enough, however, the older man grabbed me, threw me over his shoulder, and ran.

I attempted to hit him as hard as I could, which only resulted in him throwing me to the ground and knocking me out.


	3. Shadow Of The Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Shadow Of The Day" by Linkin Park

Daryl immediately took off after the man carrying Kat only to be cut off by two other men, both of whom took advantage of the situation and knocked him to the ground. Glenn, Rick, and T-Dog weren’t far behind, however, and were able to force the men off of Daryl. With a growl of frustration, Daryl picked up his crossbow and shot at the men, hitting one on the buttocks. They began to retreat while Rick cornered the teenager and prevented him from going along with them. 

Daryl got back to his feet, almost knocking Rick out of the way to pin the teen against a wall. His voice was venomous: “Where the fuck did they take her?” 

The teen pressed into the wall, trying to back away.

“Well?”

“Maybe we should do this somewhere else,” Glenn interrupted while Rick and T-Dog tried to create barricades to slow down the dead. Daryl grit his teeth and shoved the teen in front of him, crossbow aimed to shoot him if he tried anything. Rick nodded and grabbed the bag of guns, slinging it over his shoulder. Glenn took the lead and led them back to the building they had originally split up in. The entire walk there, T-Dog kept nervously glancing at Daryl. The man looked fit to explode at any minute.

“This should be fine,” Rick nodded up at the roof. Daryl pushed the teen towards the stairs to follow Glenn. T-Dog closed the door behind them once they were back up there. If he never saw this roof again, it still wouldn’t be soon enough.

“What happened?” Rick asked, leaning back as he looked at the teenager. The teen glowered, clearly not intimidated at all.

“They wanted the guns,” Glenn said, motioning to the bag. “They grabbed me when I wouldn’t let go of them.”

“Should’ve gone another way,” the teen scoffed, wiping some blood off of his mouth.

“Should’ve shot you when I had the chance,” Daryl countered, nostrils flared. The teenager laughed. “Maybe I’ll cut off your feet instead. Make it slow.”

“She’s too good for you,  _ Puto _ .”

“That’s the point.” Glenn furrowed his brows at Daryl but said nothing. Merle always listened to Kat in some capacity. Maybe that rubbed off on the younger Dixon, too. They were both oddly protective of her, even though she’s entirely capable of being self-sufficient. (And she would often let them know it, too.)

“Look, the men you were with took our friend,” Rick said, stepping between Daryl and the teenager. “We just want to talk to them and see if we can work something out.”

The teenager said nothing, studying his face to see if he was lying. Rick looked sincere. Slowly, the teen nodded. “My name is Miguel. I can take you to them. They’ll be willing to trade. And they won’t hurt her. There’s rules,” he added quickly.

Rick looked around the group. They all nodded. Their people were more important.

“One wrong move and you get an arrow in your ass,” Daryl glared at Miguel. “Just so you know.”

“G’s gonna take that arrow out of my ass and shove it up yours,” Miguel countered. “Just so you know.”

“G?” Rick questioned.

“Guillermo, he’s the man here.”

Glenn did his best to tune out the conversation as he looked around the nursing home. It looked deserted. But I guess that’s how you want a hideout to look. Deserted or harmless. He shifted nervously, wishing Kat was there. They were together so much that he didn’t really know what to do with the thought of never seeing her again. She better be alive so he can tell her how dumb she is.

Rick loading his shotgun brought Glenn back to reality. They were moving in. Miguel first, Daryl and Rick second. He and T-Dog were waiting nearby for the element of surprise. The red double-door opened and the man from earlier stepped out.

“You okay, little man?” Guillermo asked Miguel, glancing at the armed men behind him.

“They’re gonna cut off my feet, Carnal,” Miguel said, visibly nervous in front of the man. Rick studied the teen, wondering why that was. Guillermo must be more dangerous than he looks if Miguel feels safe enough to be vulnerable with him.

“Cops do that?” Guillermo frowned, looking at Rick.

“Not him, this redneck Puto here.”

The man that Daryl had shot with an arrow came out waving a gun and yelling about Daryl. Guillermo pushed the man’s gun down and diffused the situation. Rick and Daryl did not lower their guns.

“This true?” Guillermo questioned.

“We were hoping for a more calm discussion than that,” Rick admitted, his posture relaxed. Daryl, on the other hand, looked so tightly wound that it was a wonder he hadn’t snapped yet.

“I’m having trouble believing that. My men are attacked, one shot in the ass, and the other threatened to have his feet removed. Why’s that?”

“Heat of the moment. Mistakes were made on  _ both _ sides,” Rick said evenly, refusing to take the bait.

“Who’s that dude to you anyway?” Guillermo nodded at Daryl. “You don’t look related.”

“We aren’t. He’s one of our group. More or less,” Rick admitted, looking Guillermo in the face instead of staring at him down the barrel of his shotgun. “I’m sure you have one like him, too.”

“You got my brother in there, too?” Daryl questioned, glancing at the men behind Guillermo.

“Sorry, we’re fresh out of white boys. But I’ve got a white girl if you’re interested.”

“I have one of yours, you have one of mine. Even trade,” Rick raised his eyebrows.

“Don’t sound even to me,” Guillermo scoffed. Miguel looked shocked and began to try to plead. Guillermo ignored him. “My men got attacked, where’s the compensation for their pain and suffering? More importantly, where’s my bag of guns?”

“Guns?”

“The bag of guns that Miguel saw in the street.”

“You’re mistaken.”

“I don’t think so.”

“About it being  _ yours _ .”

There was a brief exchange of egos before Rick glanced at Glenn and T-Dog, each with guns trained on the men from above. Guillermo looked almost impressed but pointed above him, yelling out a command in Spanish. Two men stepped into view, Kat between them. She was gagged and bound.

“You come back with Miguel  _ and _ the bag of guns and everybody walks. If not, we get to see who can spill more blood.” He turned, retreating into the building again as the men and Kat stepped away from the ledge of the roof. Daryl swore and kicked a stone into the wall. Rick looked displeased.

Rick and the others returned with Miguel bound and gagged, guns drawn. They made it clear that they had no intention of parting with their guns or leaving without Kat. Killing every single person there wasn’t a breach of their code of ethics. Guillermo hadn’t thought about that.

“I’m gonna feed your girl to my dogs,” Guillermo snarled. “Say I picked her up at a yardsale or something. I told you how it has to be, are you woefully deaf?”

“No, my hearing’s fine,” Rick said evenly, stepping up to Guillermo. “You said come locked and loaded.” Rick pumped a bullet into the chamber of his shotgun. Daryl, T-Dog, and Glenn followed his lead. The men behind Guillermo raised their guns in retaliation, though none of them loaded bullets into the chambers. The group didn’t seem to notice that.

“Felipe, Felipe!” a little old lady called as she made her way through the armed men.

“Get that old lady out of the line of fire!” Daryl yelled, pulling up his top lip in disgust. Guillermo turned, fear clouding his face.

“Abuela, listen to your mijo, okay? Go back inside,” he said, fighting to remain calm.

“Mr. Gilbert is having trouble breathing,” she ignored him. “The nice lady is trying to help him but she told me to come get you.”

Glenn’s eyes widened in realization, the old lady was talking about Kat.

“He needs his asthma stuff, Katriina couldn’t find it.” Glenn lowered his gun, unable to follow through with Rick’s call for violence. Kat wouldn’t help them unless she wasn’t being threatened. Nobody gets to push her around like that. They’d have to either break her or appeal to her sense of ethics. Rick began to lower his gun as well.

“Felipe, go take care of it, okay?” Guillermo ordered. “And take your grandmother with you.”

“Abuela,” Felipe addressed the old woman before communicating with her fully in Spanish. That was lost on the group. The old lady wasn’t distracted that easily, she caught sight of Rick’s uniform and immediately began to plead that he shouldn’t take Felipe away.

“Ma’am, I’m not here to arrest your grandson,” Rick said gently.

“Then what do you want him for?” she questioned, staring at him sternly.

“He’s helping us find a missing person.” 

“Katriina,” Glenn interrupted. The old lady looked at him, puzzled.

“She’s inside with Mr. Gilbert. Come, come, I show you.”

Guillermo looked defeated as he told his men to stand down. Glenn, Rick, T-Dog, and Daryl followed the old lady. She clasped Rick’s hand firmly as she led them further into the compound. They found Kat administering asthma medication to an old man, talking to him comfortingly and helping him relax through an asthma attack. Felipe took over, thanking her quietly in Spanish. She struggled through a reply. Her Spanish was very rusty and hadn’t been used much since high school.

Glenn threw his arms around her, relieved. “We thought you were being fed to dogs.”

Kat pulled back, clearly surprised. “What? Those dogs?” 

Three chihuahuas were sitting in a leopard print bed, wagging their tails happily. Rick looked livid as he pulled Guillermo off to the side.

“I told him that was a bad idea,” Kat sighed. She grinned. “Thanks for coming in swinging for me though. At least I know if I’m in real trouble you’ll put up a fight.” She playfully bumped her shoulder against Glenn’s. Her best friend looked at her, suddenly exhausted. She read his expression and shrugged. It’s easier to not get caught up on that stuff.

Kat continued to chat with Felipe while the rest of the group went into a room with Guillermo to talk more. Rick ended up deciding to part with some of their guns and ammo to help keep the nursing home safe. 

“Admit it, you just came back to Atlanta for the hat,” Glenn teased Rick as they walked back to the box truck.

“Yeah, just don’t tell anybody,” Rick grinned, tipping his hat. Kat snorted slightly, amused by that idea. Glenn just looked relieved to have her back. He felt a lot less anxious with her around.

“So, what, we gave half of our guns to a bunch of old farts?” Daryl questioned angrily.

“Not nearly half,” Rick corrected.

“For what? Aren’t they gonna die off momentarily anyhow?”

Kat fixed the back of his head with a stare, Glenn bit back a chuckle.

“Seriously, how long do you think they got?”

“As long as any of us do,” Kat grumbled. Before Daryl was able to retort, they all stopped dead in their tracks. The box truck was gone. “Well shit.”

“Oh my god,” Glenn groaned.

“Where the hell’s our van?” Daryl frowned.

“We left it right there, who would take it?”

“Merle,” Kat and Rick said in unison. 

“He’s gonna be taking some vengeance back to camp,” Daryl realized.

“Not if we get there first,” Kat shook her head and looked to Glenn for an answer.

“It’s gonna be a hard hike.”

“Well, we’d better get started then,” Rick nodded.


End file.
